This is why PWEs suck!

[f2tornado]

I've received a few damaged cards in PWEs over the last couple years. The most recent PWE card victim was a well centered 90 Leaf Frank Thomas received a couple weeks ago. This is especially aggravating when I'm paying $2, $3, and in one instance $4.50 to ship. It should be noted I have also received a couple of destroyed bubble mailers over the years but the ratio of damaged goods is far smaller with bubble mailers. All of my items be them cheap giveaways or eBay sales are shipped in bubble mailers. I can get a box of 25 at Sam's Club for about $5 and the postage is not much higher... 44 cents for a PWE and 88 cents for a single card in a bubble. Less than 70 cents additional for a safe delivery 99.8% of the time.

On a slightly related note, I will occasionally receive a less desirable copy of a card then what the seller has pictured. I and many others will bid a premium for certain well centered rookies and some sellers capitalize via deception. If the photo is stock then say so in the description. I will typically state "The item in the image is the exact item you will receive... Item will be shipped in a bubble mailer."

 

[pigskincardboard]

agreed.
to this day, we still have people that don't understand that those go through a sorting machine that twists and bends. bubblemailers are NOT expensive, stick a styrofoam peanut in there, and they DON'T go through the machine.

I get that every now and then when I buy from sportlots or beckett marketplace. not expensive cards usually, but ticks me off for wasting my time.

Seriously, though. Bubble Mailers can cost more than a dollar if you don't sell all that often. People tend to assume that everyone's stashing .25 cent bubblemailers. When i first started selling, I'd just grba them at the post office and the plastic ones would set me back almost 2 dollars.

2 dollar bubble mailer + 3 dollar shipping + .25 cent supplies = 1 Feedback Rating on a 1-dollar card.

By the way, how has ebay not figured out how to weight the feedback to the cost of the item.

walmart has them for under a quarter each if you buy a box of 20.

if you buy a case of 500 you can get them for .11 shipped. I'd rather put 55.00 into it at once than over 500.00

I went to Walmart maybe a month ago? They had 3 packs of mailers, nothing more. Dollar stores? 3 Packs.

Cost to ship a bunch of mailers to Canada? At least 15 sometimes 19 dollars, just for shipping. I ordered once and just never got them. The guy changed the item description the day after saying "No International Shipping"

Which i took to mean, I went to the post-office and realized it costs more to mail them than I quoted you. I just wish he refunded me the next day, as I waited something like 40 days before contacting him.

I didn't realize at first that this card was from Canada, but I can definitely understand.

I ship all my stuff in mailers, but I lose money most of the time, and I still get a crappy shipping price score.

Just because you can get a bunch of mailers on the cheap, doesn't mean that everyone can. Some people only need a handful and they'll factor that into the shipping price.

 

[HMS Sports Cards]

Thought I'd contribute to the discussion.... :|

I have a small Ebay store. A large number of my cards are listed for under $3. Any card under $3 is shipped via a PWE for $1 shipping. The buyer has the option to pay $2 for a bubble envelope. The cards are shipped in penny sleeves and top loaders, and I securely tape the top loader.

I do think I am able to sell more low end cards because of this. I have only had one complaint in a year and a half of doing this and sent the buyer a replacement card.

If the seller pays an extra $.20 then the envelope will not be put through the sorter. I do that for 2 cards in a PWE. Once shipping gets to $2, for 3 cards they get a bubble mailer. It saves both the buyer and myself money on the cost of buying and selling low end cards.

Again... just my 2 cents.

H

 

[autocut]

I bought 300 bubble mailers, so that'll never happen in my case.

 

[wolfmanalfredo]

agreed.
to this day, we still have people that don't understand that those go through a sorting machine that twists and bends. bubblemailers are NOT expensive, stick a styrofoam peanut in there, and they DON'T go through the machine.

I get that every now and then when I buy from sportlots or beckett marketplace. not expensive cards usually, but ticks me off for wasting my time.

Seriously, though. Bubble Mailers can cost more than a dollar if you don't sell all that often. People tend to assume that everyone's stashing .25 cent bubblemailers. When i first started selling, I'd just grba them at the post office and the plastic ones would set me back almost 2 dollars.

2 dollar bubble mailer + 3 dollar shipping + .25 cent supplies = 1 Feedback Rating on a 1-dollar card.

By the way, how has ebay not figured out how to weight the feedback to the cost of the item.

Most expensive single mailers I've seen are 1.19 if you by one at a time. Shipping in that bubble mailer first class with DC costs 2.00-2.30 at the very most. Supplies are cheaper then .25. Thats why I don't list cards that will sell for less then 5 or 10 bucks. Anything I list over 10.00 I use free shipping, otherwise 2.00. I take a loss either way, but it what you've gotta do to keep the ratings up.

I woul never ship in a PWE, because I know what its like to recieve damaged cards in a PWE. If its a buck or two I don't care as much as long as its talked about beforehand

 

[f2tornado]

I wonder if Burbank is still charging $2.89 shipping via PWE.

 

[MartinFFcollector]

 

[justinmandawg]

agreed.
to this day, we still have people that don't understand that those go through a sorting machine that twists and bends. bubblemailers are NOT expensive, stick a styrofoam peanut in there, and they DON'T go through the machine.

I get that every now and then when I buy from sportlots or beckett marketplace. not expensive cards usually, but ticks me off for wasting my time.

Seriously, though. Bubble Mailers can cost more than a dollar if you don't sell all that often. People tend to assume that everyone's stashing .25 cent bubblemailers. When i first started selling, I'd just grba them at the post office and the plastic ones would set me back almost 2 dollars.

2 dollar bubble mailer + 3 dollar shipping + .25 cent supplies = 1 Feedback Rating on a 1-dollar card.

By the way, how has ebay not figured out how to weight the feedback to the cost of the item.

walmart has them for under a quarter each if you buy a box of 20.

if you buy a case of 500 you can get them for .11 shipped. I'd rather put 55.00 into it at once than over 500.00

I went to Walmart maybe a month ago? They had 3 packs of mailers, nothing more. Dollar stores? 3 Packs.

Cost to ship a bunch of mailers to Canada? At least 15 sometimes 19 dollars, just for shipping. I ordered once and just never got them. The guy changed the item description the day after saying "No International Shipping"

Which i took to mean, I went to the post-office and realized it costs more to mail them than I quoted you. I just wish he refunded me the next day, as I waited something like 40 days before contacting him.

I didn't realize at first that this card was from Canada, but I can definitely understand.

I ship all my stuff in mailers, but I lose money most of the time, and I still get a crappy shipping price score.

Just because you can get a bunch of mailers on the cheap, doesn't mean that everyone can. Some people only need a handful and they'll factor that into the shipping price.

They only have a three pack? They don't even carry that type of packaging here in KC. It's interesting to me that even products like bubblemailers aren't carried in the same products throughout their network.

 

[ChasHawk]

Justin - just for reference. There are 2 Walmarts within 10 mins. of my house. 1 carries a 10 pack of #000 mailers for $4.40.
The other does not sell #000 mailers in any way, shape, or form.

Even though I don't sell very often, I still ordered 100 from eBay for when I do need them.

 

[justinmandawg]

Justin - just for reference. There are 2 Walmarts within 10 mins. of my house. 1 carries a 10 pack of #000 mailers for $4.40.
The other does not sell #000 mailers in any way, shape, or form.

Even though I don't sell very often, I still ordered 100 from eBay for when I do need them.

More different packaging.

 

[muskiesfan]

Wow Charlie, that really sucks brother. Sorry your card got damaged. Hopefully the seller will give you a partial refund so at least you have a copy of the card until another surfaces.

 

[subpop77]

:shock: :? :x :evil: Damn Canadians!!
As seller on ebay I will only put in a team bag and bubble mailer. As far as on card sites I still rather ship the same way but if some one insist and I ask them are you SURE? Then they know how it is getting shipped and they are okay with it than PWE it is. Just my 2 cents.

Got a card in today. Low dollar, but the 1st one I've seen listed in 2+ years. Here's how it arrived in my mailbox...

Barely still in the envelope. Penny sleeve and toploader. No tape, no teambag.

Front of the card looks ok...

...the back, not so much. That crease next to the Donruss logo runs from top to bottom of the card. :evil:

Seller offered a full refund if I return the card. So, I'd have to pay to ship with tracking to Canada(which would be more than I paid for the card),
then hope the card pops up again somewhere along the line. I asked for a partial refund, so I guess we'll see what happens.

This however, is why I constantly argue against PWEs for eBay sales. Even if 99/100 show up in perfect shape, 1 like this is too many to me.

 

[Topnotchsy]

It was a few months back and I did not save the seller. I believe it was a Best Offer though I'm not sure. They are about the smallest possible size you can get a card into (so not good for lots and the like) and I've had some in the past like they were a little better quality, but they've done the job.

Have a link for them? That's cheaper than I've ever seen.

I've never had an issue with a card I received in a PWE. That said, I recently purchased 500 small bubble mailers for $15 dlvd on eBay. $.03 apiece. I don't know when I'll ever use that many but for that price how could you go wrong.

 

[ChasHawk]

It was a few months back and I did not save the seller. I believe it was a Best Offer though I'm not sure. They are about the smallest possible size you can get a card into (so not good for lots and the like) and I've had some in the past like they were a little better quality, but they've done the job.

Have a link for them? That's cheaper than I've ever seen.

I've never had an issue with a card I received in a PWE. That said, I recently purchased 500 small bubble mailers for $15 dlvd on eBay. $.03 apiece. I don't know when I'll ever use that many but for that price how could you go wrong.

I got one of these not too long ago. Not bad, but def. not a #000 size, correct?

 

[Topnotchsy]

It was a few months back and I did not save the seller. I believe it was a Best Offer though I'm not sure. They are about the smallest possible size you can get a card into (so not good for lots and the like) and I've had some in the past like they were a little better quality, but they've done the job.

Have a link for them? That's cheaper than I've ever seen.

I've never had an issue with a card I received in a PWE. That said, I recently purchased 500 small bubble mailers for $15 dlvd on eBay. $.03 apiece. I don't know when I'll ever use that many but for that price how could you go wrong.

I got one of these not too long ago. Not bad, but def. not a #000 size, correct?

Pretty sure it's smaller that that. At times it does not work for what I need to send (it's difficult to get a single BGS card into the mailer but for the majority of what I sell it is fine, and at $.03...